Paul Cinder and the Knights take on UNF for the second time this year on Tuesday.

April 14, 2008

ORLANDO - Just one midweek game is scheduled for the UCF baseball team as it travels to Jacksonville to tangle with North Florida Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Knights are hoping to ride some momentum into the meeting with the Ospreys after going 4-1 last week, which brought their overall record to 26-12.

Upcoming Opponent
North Florida is coming off a 2-1 series win over Mercer in Georgia last weekend, which moved its record to 20-16 on the year and 11-10 in Atlantic Sun play. The Ospreys are 12-5 at home, which includes two wins over Mississippi State to start the year. UNF's offense is hitting .315 with 85 doubles and 18 homers, as six of its starters are batting .340 or better. Sophomore righty Jonathan Turner will get the start on the mound and bring with him an 0-2 record with an 8.82 ERA.

The Series
North Florida gave UCF its first home loss of the season March 25, an 8-5 decision that saw the Ospreys score three in the fifth and three in the sixth for the win. That UNF victory improved its all-time record over the Knights to 5-3.

UCF vs. Memphis Series Recap
Four first-inning runs enabled UCF to cruise to a 10-6 win over Memphis April 11. All nine starters had a hit or a run scored, as the Knights tied a season-high with 17 hits in the victory. Eric Kallstrom and Evan Stobbs paced the offense with four hits apiece, while Kyle Sweat picked up the win by going 5.1 innings with five strikeouts.

In game two, Memphis jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the top of the second, but the Knights kept chipping away. Trailing 7-5 in the ninth, Robert Lara tied it up with a one-out two-run single into left to send it to extras. But the Tigers plated the eventual winning run in the 11th to capture an 8-7 win.

Similar to game one, UCF broke out for five first-inning runs in the rubber match en route to a 10-4 series-clinching victory. Carmine Giardina and Matt Manning combined to toss a two-hitter, and Evan Stobbs led the offense with three hits, a homer and four RBI.

Finally, a Little Time to Rest
This week marks the first time since Feb. 25-March 2 that the UCF baseball team will not play at least five games in a week. However, the Knights will have four road games on tap this week before having four-straight days without a game April 21-24.

It Takes Two Does Not Ring True for Memphis
Two hits was all Memphis could muster in a 10-4 UCF win April 13. Carmine Giardina got the start and proceeded to go 6.0 innings with nine strikeouts for the victory. Matt Manning came on in the seventh and retired all nine batters he faced, including striking out three, to earn the save. It was the second time this year the Knights limited an opponent to two hits or less (no-hitter vs. Wagner March 17).

Making the Most of the Opportunity
Freshman Evan Stobbs was one of UCF's top hitters in preseason practices, and now that he has gotten a chance to put his bat to work he has taken advantage. The right-handed hitter has started five games since April 6, three at first base and two at designated hitter, and has gone 10-for-21 with 11 RBI, six runs scored, a double and two homers. Stobbs now has a .394 season average with a .636 slugging percentage.

Situational Hitting
While strong pitching typically provides UCF with victories, the offense also needs to perform in the clutch. In 26 wins this year, the Knights hit .343 with runners in scoring position, .350 with runners on base and held a 70.4 percentage when getting the RBI with a runner at third and less than two outs.

Conversely, in the 12 losses UCF went .204 with RISP, .269 with runners aboard and had a 54.5 percentage when attempting to get the RBI with a runner at third and less than two away.

Streaking Kallstrom
Shortstop Eric Kallstrom enters Tuesday with a 13-game hitting streak on the line. During the stretch, the junior has batted .407 (22-for-54) with six doubles, a homer and seven RBI. Earlier this year, Kallstrom recorded a 14-game hitting streak.

A Look at UCF's Victories
So far in 2008, UCF has played and defeated seven different teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago: Missouri 1-0, Monmouth 3-0, Stetson 2-0, Jacksonville 1-1, Southern Miss 1-2, East Carolina 1-2 and Memphis 2-1.

Eric and Evan Equals Eight HitsEric Kallstrom and Evan Stobbs both set career-highs against Memphis April 11. The duo each notched four hits in the win, while Kallstrom scored three runs and Stobbs amassed three RBI. Combined, they racked up eight of UCF's 17 hits on the night.

Completely Herold
After last year witnessed no UCF starter toss a complete game, Mitch Herold broke that trend April 9 vs. Stetson. The junior southpaw hurled a three-hitter to defeat the Hatters, 4-1, matching a career-high with nine strikeouts while walking only one. He also set a personal best with his 9.0-inning performance, as his previous career-long outing was 7.0 innings. Herold finished his victory with just 101 pitches.

No. 200
Senior Tyson Auer became just the 15th player in UCF history to record 200 hits in a Black and Gold uniform when he posted a single against Stetson April 9. The center fielder now needs just 11 hits to crack the top 10.